What is the Espionage Act of 1917?

It’s an act to punish acts of interference with foreign relations and the foreign commerce of the United States, to punish espionage, to enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and for other purposes.

The 65th U.S. Congress enacted it and President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill.

It says on Wikipedia that “It was intended to prohibit interference with military operations or recruitment, to prevent insubordination in the military, and to avoid the support of the United States enemies during wartime. In 1919 the SCOTUS unanimously ruled through Schneck v. United States that the act did not violate the freedom of speech of those convicted under its provision

This led to the charges of many people, including the Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and NSA contractor Edward Snowden, (Who became most wanted for “selling” intelligence secrets.